Origin
Deep in the heart of Africa is a city hidden by mountains and illusion. Where it now stands, a meteor (or a spacecraft, depending on the account) crashed during the 19th century; its rays imbuing a gorilla tribe with hyper-intelligence and telepathy. There they now live, in an advanced society using science far beyond our own, calling the city “Gorilla City“.
On an exploratory mission, their leader Solovar was captured by humans. Rather than reveal the existence of Gorilla City, he played dumb and allowed himself to be taken to a Central City circus. Grodd came after him, but not for rescue; his intent was to steal Solovar’s secret for controlling others through force of mind. He succeeded, but ran afoul of the Flash for the first time. His plan to create an army of his fellow gorillas and take over the world was foiled.
Since then, Grodd has spent most of his time imprisoned in Gorilla City, breaking out only when he has a plan ready. Often, he has gone to Central City hoping to eliminate the Flash before he could interfere with his plans. At times, he has led a political faction within Gorilla City, sometimes even becoming the dominant force.
Creation
Gorilla Grodd was created by John Broome (writer) and Carmine Infantino (artist). Gorilla Grodd made his first comic book appearance in the pages of Flash #106.
Major Story Arcs
Dog Days
For More Information: Flash #45
In one of his first major post-crisis appearances, Grodd used his telepathy to increase the intelligence of the animals in Central City, enabling them to think logically and become organized. His plan ultimately failed and he was defeated by Wally West, with the help of Pied Piper and Vixen.
Grodd later teamed up with Hector Hammond to locate a meteorite which had evolutionary properties. They attacked Hal Jordan, Rex the Wonder Dog and West, and soon managed to locate their target. An ensuing battle resulted in the rock exploding causing Grodd and Flash to become super-intelligent “mental giants” and reducing Hammond and Jordan to cro-magnons. Grodd used his newly obtained increase in mental abilities, to lead an army of gorillas to take over the world the world, but was beaten.
Catwoman: Groddspell
Gorilla City Conquest
For More Information: Martian Manhunter Annual #2
One of Grodd’s widest-ranging schemes was to arrange Solovar’s assassination and manipulate Gorilla City into war against humanity. In the course of this, Grodd absorbed too much neural energy from his fellow apes, leaving him with the intelligence of a normal ape (Martian Manhunter Annual #2, 1999). He has since recovered, and a failed attempt to set up a base in Florida led to his capture and incarceration in Iron Heights.
Creating Zoom/Return to Gorilla City
For More Information: Flash #193 & Flash #194
Despite recovering his intelligence and force of mind, Grodd had become more savage with each attack. Grodd led a massive breakout from Iron Heights, with the help of mind-controlled apes, and later encountered the Flash. Figuring that simply killing Flash wasn’t enough, Grodd used his telepathy to find out people whom Wally cared about, so he could mentally torture him. Realizing that Hunter Zolomon was nearby, he sent one of the gorilla’s under his control to assault him, breaking his spine and leaving him for dead. This was the first in a chain of events that let to Zolomon’s transformation into Zoom, who would go on to become one of the Flash’s deadliest foes.
Grodd would eventually return to Gorilla City to lead an attack. Out for revenge, West decided that he would bring him down and return him to Iron Heights and pursued him. After a skirmish, West defeated him, but was forced to leave him in the care of Nnambi, son of King Solovar, and then present ruler of Gorilla City.
Superman/Batman
For More Information: Superman/Batman
Grodd also managed to mind-control a number of established villains (and certain heroes) to attack Superman, after an offer of a large sum of money was made by then president, Lex Luthor. However his presence is discovered by Superman and Batman, and he is defeated.
Rogue War
For More Information: Rogue War
Grodd was one of a number of Flash villains seen at the funeral of Captain Boomerang. Although he didn’t care about the Rogues‘ affairs, he agreed to work with them for a chance to get revenge on the Flash. He was brought out by Mirror Master in the middle of the Rogue War, claiming that he was doing this since he was temporarily working for the Secret Society, but that he would later resume his goal of world domination after the Flash was taken care of.
Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding
For More Information: Justice League of America Wedding Special
Grodd was also part of the Injustice League that was responsible for the attack during Green Arrow‘s and Black Canary‘s wedding.
Salvation Run
For More Information: Salvation Run
Grodd was one of the villains sent to planet Salvation. After savagely killing Monsieur Mallah and the Brain, he is kicked off a cliff by the Joker. He survives, and helps Lex Luthor set up the teleporter back to Earth. While badly hurt, he sought healing from Nzame a so-called holy child from Gorilla City, he was about to kill him afterward before being brought to Keystone City by Spin. He turned against him however and destroyed his base. He was later defeated by the Flash.
Under Libra’s Control
For More Information: Justice League of America, Final Crisis: Resist
Grodd was also seen to be among the higher ranked villains in a Secret Society formed by Libra. He had his mind controlled by the anti-life equation and was seen in a failed attempt to capture Cheetah. He later used Brain Emperor to control groups of soldiers, but is finally defeated by The Shield and Magog.
The Black Ring
For More Information: The Black Ring, Action Comics #893
At some point later, Grodd comes into possession of a large mass of Black Ring Energy. Lex Luthor comes into conflict with him over it, going as far as drugging one of his employees so that when Grodd eats him, Grodd is drugged as well. Lex is able to overcome Grodd by tricking the drugged gorilla into decapitating a Lex android with a “combat spoon” and eating the head, electrocuting him. Nevertheless, as Lex escapes, Grodd shoots him down with a rocket launcher. Upon falling to the ground, Lex’s neck breaks. During this appearance, Grodd is portrayed as having a vast collection of human brains, which he eats, as well as wielding a massive spoon as a weapon.
Road to Flashpoint
For more information see: Flashpoint
On his way to work at the Central City Crime Lab, Barry Allen is late because he had to stop Grodd at the Zoo.
Rotworld
Gorilla Grodd and his army come across Buddy Baker, Steel , Black Orchid, Beast Boy and Constantine. Baker knocks Grodd unconscious when Frankenstein arrives to help out.
New 52
Goriila Grodd challenges his father for control of Gorilla City. He kills him and begins to eat his brains. Flash is jettisoned from the Speed Force and has amnesia. The cleric apes who resemble Solivar tell him his the Messenger. The clerics can no longer access The Lightning. When they did a pilot was whisked into the Speed Force. Grodd smashes the clerics head into the wall, killing him. The Flash remembers seeing an ape lunge over his jeep as a small child while on safari.Flash remembers the ape and Grodd are the same and this jogs his memory. Grodd in anger starts a cave in that buries him. The cleric apes send Flash back home, but not before he lets the apes know their destiny is theirs and not tied to Grodd.Grodd is placed in the Speed Force from the battle during Flash. He returns from the Speed Force with the powers that the Flash had. He tells everyone Flash is dead and he infers he was let out of the Speed Force by the one who killed the Justice League.
Powers & Abilities
Grodd has superhuman strength and durability far greater than ordinary gorillas and he has enhanced senses which allows him to hold his own against the Flash. He also possesses a genius-level scientific mind and has been seen to create a variety of devices using advanced technology.
Grodd is a very powerful telepath his main field of telepathy though is mind control. Gorilla Grodd is capable of taking control of people’s minds forcing them to do his bidding. He is capable of transferring his consciousness into other beings. He is also capable of creating psionic blasts and has the ability to transform matter. He also possesses a degree of telekinesis.
Alternate Versions
Flashpoint
In the Reverse Flash altered world of Flashpoint, Grodd successfully overthrew Solovar and took over Gorilla City. Over the years, Grodd successfully took the entirety of Africa, slaughtering most of the human population. Grodd takes no solace in this, though, instead finding the little attention he has gotten depressing, as most of the attention is focused on how Emperor Aquaman and Wonder Woman destroying large portions of Europe. Grodd travels to Cape Town, the last human stronghold to fall, and encounters several would be assassins on the way. Grodd forces one to kill his partners and to grow up hating Grodd and plot to kill him. After killing the human leader at Cape Town, Grodd plans a suicidal invasion into Europe.
Anti-matter Earth
In the Anti-Matter Earth, General Grodd is a member of the Justice Underground. He is a freedom fighter from a militaristic ape nation.
Justice
In the story Justice, Grodd is a member of the Legion of Doom. Grodd successfully incapacitates the Martian Manhunter, who is searching for the lost Aquaman, by mentally convincing him he’s on fire. Grodd also successfully gains access to the Watchtower‘s computers, finding out the identities of the Justice League members in the process. Grodd later attacks the League with a Yellow Ring after the captured Captain Cold lead them to Grodd. It turns out that Grodd, along with Luthor and Brainiac had conspired to take out the Justice League. In addition, Brainiac plans to double cross Grodd by researching whether Aquaman or Aquababy‘s brains could control Grodd like they do with fish.
In Other Media
Television
Super Friends
Gorilla Grodd appeared in Challenge of the Super Friends and Super Friends, voiced in both versions by Stanley Ralph Ross. He was a member of the Legion of Doom, and despite being extremely intelligent, never displayed any psychic abilities.
Justice League and Justice League Unlimited
Gorilla Grodd appears as a recurring villain in the DCAU series Justice League and its sequel, Justice League Unlimited, voiced by character actor Powers Boothe. In his first appearance, Grodd attempts to destroy Gorilla City by inventing a high tech helmet that allowed him to control the minds of humans. Using this devicer, Grodd brainwashes military officials and tries to have them launch nuclear weapons at Gorilla City, but this plan is thwarted by Flash and Green Lantern. Flash also destroys Grodd’s mind control helmet, which seemingly leaves the gorilla with a diminished intelligence, but this turns out to be a ruse on Grodd’s part. Additionally, the helmet’s destruction accidentally grants Grodd powerful mental abilities that are now internalized within his brain, making him an even bigger threat than before.
Seeking revenge on the Justice League, Grodd eventually escapes and recruits Sinestro, Parasite, Killer Frost, Giganta, Clayface and the Shade to form a new group of villains known as the Secret Society. Grodd also builds robotic drones that he uses to spy on the members of the League, learning about their various resentments and insecurities. Utilizing his psychic powers, Grodd is able to subtly provoke the heroes into arguing with one another, which divides the team and leads to its members splitting apart. This makes the heroes an easy target for the members of the Society, who are able to pick them off one by one. Grodd plans to execute the captive heroes in a football stadium filled with spectators, but it turns out that Martian Manhunter had switched places with Clayface and infiltrated the Secret Society. The freed Justice League members manage to defeat the Secret Society, with Superman taking out Grodd.
Some time later, Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is taken by The Key to Grodd’s secret hideout. Grodd then tells Lex that he has assembled all of the super villains to form an even more powerful version of the Secret Society, and plans on an another assault on the Justice League Unlimited. Lex originally refuses to join but changes his mind when Grodd shows him a fragment of Brainiac‘s technology. Throughout the season, Luthor and Grodd vie for control of the Society, with Lex eventually betraying Grodd and imprisoning him. Grodd later is freed by Tala and gathers his own villainous supporters, causing a schism within the team. During a massive brawl between the two factions of the Society, Grodd tries to hypnotize Lex, but Lex reflects the hypnosis wave back onto Grodd himself. A helpless Grodd is then jettisoned into the vacuum of space, presumably killing him.
Episode Appearances
- Brave and the Bold
- Secret Society
- I Am Legion
- To Another Shore
- Dead Reckoning
- Great Brain Robbery
- Alive
Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Gorilla Grodd appears as a recurring villain in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced by John DiMaggio. Grodd first appears in Terror of Dinosaur Island, Batman and Plastic Man team up and stop him. Gorilla Grodd next appears in Game Over for Owlman where he is seen amongst the villains helping Owlman. He next appears in the intro of the episode Mystery of Space where Batman helps save his life from Equinox. In Last Bat on Earth he travels to the future where he leads the gorilla army against the Tiger Army, Batman once again takes him down. Gorillas in Our Midst has him and G.A.S.P. (Gorillas and Apes Seizing Power) invading Gotham City. His final appearance is in Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster where he makes a cameo which hints at him being Flash’s villain before being Batman’s.
Justice League Action
Gorilla Grodd appears in Justice League Action, voiced by David Sobolov.
Arrowverse
Gorilla Grodd appears as as recurring character in the CW’s Arrowverse, voiced by David Sobolov. He first appears in The Flash, where he is said to be a normal gorilla that being experimented on in a military program led by General Wade Eiling. The S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explosion in the first episode granted Grodd psychic abilities, which he used to escape and plan revenge on his captors. He clashes with the members of Team Flash multiple times, and is eventually exiled to Gorilla City, a refuge for gorillas that had been experimented on over on Earth-2. Despite this, Grodd returns multiple times to threaten humanity, including several episodes of Legends of Tomorrow, where he teams up with Damien Darhk.
Harley Quinn
Gorilla Grodd appears in Harley Quinn as a member of the Legion of Doom.
Animated Film
- Gorilla Grodd makes a cameo appearance in Justice League: The New Frontier.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, voiced by Brian George.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, voiced by Travis Willingham.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in the TV special Robot Chicken DC Comics Special 2: Villains in Paradise, voiced by Clancy Brown.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom, again voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.
- Gorilla Grodd is a main antagonist in Batman: Ninja, voiced by Fred Tatasciore in the English dub and by Takehito Koyasu in the original Japanese audio track.
Video Games
- Gorilla Grodd appears as an enemy in Justice League Heroes, voiced by Neil Kaplan. He is also a boss enemy in the GBA-exclusive spn-off, Justice League Heroes: The Flash.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, voiced again by John DiMaggio.
- Gorilla Grodd appears in DC Universe Online, voiced by Jens Anderson.
- Gorilla Grodd is a recurring character in the Lego video games, appearing in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (voiced again by Travis Willingham), Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (voiced by Ike Amadi) and Lego DC Super-Villains (voiced again by David Sobolov).
- Gorilla Grodd makes a cameo appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us as one of the inmates in the Stryker’s Island stage.
- Gorilla Grodd is a playable character in the Injustice 2 fighting game, voiced by Charles Halford.
Merchandise
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
- DC Direct produced a diorama statue depicting Flash and Grodd.
- DC Direct produced a Gorilla Grodd figure.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited toy line.
- Gorilla Grodd was the subject of a Collect-and-Connect wave from Mattel.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in DC Direct’s Justice line.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in Mattel’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold line.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in Mattel’s Batman: Stealth Strike toy line.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in Funko’s Pop! line of bobbleheads.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in the DC Imaginext series from Fisher-Price.
- Gorilla Grodd has been featured in kits from Lego.
- Kotobukiya produced a Gorilla Grodd statue featuring his New 52 design.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in the DC Super-Villains line from Spin Master.
- Gorilla Grodd was featured in the DC Multiverse line from McFarlane Toys.